Mumsnet Talk

ercroydon i am in a similar situation in another part if london - except without the benefit of private options or a religious option if i could stomach it! it dud however give me context for my local schools and options for other neighbouring LAs. no easy answers just.food for thought im afraid. worth a look tho. the family graphs are an eye opener

tricot-

it doesn't matter what booklet you look at you either tutor your kids for Grammar school, send them to the minor public schools (like Whitgift or Trinity) or put them on the train to London Oratory.

Fact is there are less good schools today, selective schools like John Fisher aren't coming back any time soon.

have you looked at the london families of schools documents. it has been helping me identify good/possible schools near us. i remember seeing quite a few sutton listings. might be another useful tool to add to results, ofsted, visits and local knowledge.

PENELOPE,

John Fisher isn't what it used to be by all accounts either on here and in the local area. Those of us who tried to get our DSs into JF during the selection policy AND FAILED know what a great school it was and how annoyingly picky and selective it was. (note past tense)

Like I think Ladymuck said in an earlier post, the school has been completely non-selective since 2000/2001 or so. The days of interviews, tests, exam places and all that has long passed. It can't demand you put it ahead of any school on your list of preferences any more or deny you a place because you put it behind the London Oratory or Wilsons.

Nowadays it's basically a decent school in an area where there really aren't any decent schools and parents are forced to send their DSs to Trinity or Whitgift; or across town to the Sutton Grammars.

I hope that clears things up for you.

Penelope - this is a 5 1/2 year old thread. They'll have been long sorted

Celia2; You're absolutely right.

John Fisher is hugely oversubscribed with Catholics, in fact all the main-school is Catholic-it's only possible for non-catholics to gain entry to the 6th form.

If you are Catholic and you want to try and get your boy into Fisher-then, you must attend mass with your son regularly, be highly involved in church activities and ideally have baptised him within 3 months of birth.

The good news is, you are going up against less prep-schooled boys from Laleham Lea & Cumnor House these days; since the school stopped selection it's boys in 1999 the prep-schooled number has fallen dramatically. The main reason for this is these schools can no longer prep boys for John Fisher's interview or entrance exam/music places tests.

Instead Catholic parents know the only way to get in is to accumulate enough points.

You will be fine I'm sure, but you have to take the admissions process seriously.

fauve, that is such a good idea.
yes, ewell castle is not too far way by car. much closser thn wllington etc.
i will go look at there website and school. i really like this idea

Stitch, I don't know much about private schools, although a lot of people I know quite like Ewell Castle - don't know if that's in your area.

The thing I learnt the hard way is that it's much kinder to the child (and the worrier parent) to have a place at a private school in your back pocket if you're going to put the child through state entrance exams. Then they can say, 'Well, I've got a place at Ewell Castle, they want me, I'll just see what else might come up in the eleven plus tests.' They'll also of course do much, much better with the tension removed. The only thing is that the facilities at the private schools might wow them so much, they won't want to go to a grammar school.

i used to teach at a mixed ssecondary. went to a girls school myself. and felt that the girls in the mixed schools had too many issues to deal with that we weere spared, by the lack of boys in the clssroom.

Why are you against your son going to a co-ed school? Just curious (I'm a teacher at a mixed secondary).

yes ive heard tht too fauve. i went to the open day at sutton grammar last year, and didnt like it at all.. havent been to wallington, so still possiblity.
i dont see why private schools cant be a possibility. dh is a git however. i doubt they will be looked at seeriously by him until ds fails all the exams and has been stressed into serious stressdom. but im not going to let that happen, hence my dilemma. can you recommend any ladymuck?

we live on teh border of sutton and surry. dc go to a surrey primary school. which is why glyn is a favouriite.

I know you're saying not grammar schools, but just for info, Wallington is IMO considerably easier to get into than Sutton Grammar (I think it's to do with it being harder to get to from London). Also, you can hang on, on the waiting list, for a long time till a place comes up, while other parents give up and let their places on the waiting list go. One of ds' friends has just started at her top choice, three-quarters of the way through Year 8. The child has to be able to adapt, but it works for some.

Are private schools an option?

Oh, I think John Fisher is over subscribed with Catholics so not sure that you could get in there. Do you live in the centre of the borough or are you near the boundaries with another borough? Just wondering if there are any neighbouring borough schools which would be accesible.

my ressons for excluding greenshw re minly to do with dh family. his nephew and cousins went there. the cousins also live on one of the roads next to it and i dont particularly want him spending much time with them. i dont think they would be a good influence on hiimn.
and the fact that it is co ed.

john fisher sound s good, but im wary of sending him to a catholic school, not being christian, iyswim

John fisher seems like a good school, results are good and the parents we know seem more than happy.
I had heard good things about Greenshaw too; what didn't you like?

Stitch, are you sure about excluding Greenshaw? Dh looked round it, and was v. impressed. It's a banded comprehensive, IIRC, and we put it on our list. Might be worth a re-think?

ahaaaa thank you bmzz. will have a look at their website.
do yo u know the school at all?? any info gratefully received.

Theres also St JOhn Fisher in Purley.

he is in year five. he used to want to go to glyn, because one of his friends was going there. now he never seems to mention it.

How old is he now ? Does HE have a preference at the moment ?

possibilities
Glyn
overton grange, (mixed)

definitly no way
Cheam high
greenshaw
carshalton high

schools i dont htink he has a snowblls chance for
sutton grammar
wilsons
wllington

help. feel completly uselless

sutton, where we live seems to be full of grmmar schools. i relly relly dont think he will get into one. and i wont let him be put throught the stress of the selective exams dh wants him to do..
so where do i send him? most schools are mixed. dont want him going there. many of them i dont likee for other reasons, {results, reputation, socil issues etc. the only school i would like him to go to we are not in the catchment for..
does any one who knows the area at alll hav e any suggestions?
plese